Louisville's Gorgui Dieng goes up against Florida's Erik Murphy during the West Regional final.

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The University of Louisville's 6-11 sophomore center has been the tournament's No. 3 shot-blocker, behind Jeff Withey of Kansas and Antony Davis of Kentucky. He has greatly improved his stock among scouts during the Cardinals' NCAA Tourney run.

He had huge blocks late in victories of Michigan State and Florida in the regional, and his seven against the Spartans are the most for any tournament game this year and tie a school record.

But Dieng is different not because of where he's going, but because of where he's been.

Lots of players dream of NBA millions. Dieng has a different view of money.

A native of Kebemer, Senegal, a town of about 15,000 two hours out of the nation's capital, Dieng is the son of Momar Dieng, a school principal, local mayor and legislator, who greatly shaped his views about the future, and his basketball enterprise.

Perhaps it's best if you listen to him tell this part of the story, and it is not without emotion that he tells it:

"Where I am from, my dad taught me how to share," Dieng said. "A lot of people are selfish in this world right now."

Dieng said his father used to take his salary and sit it on a table. Peoplewould make a line outside the house because his father was known for his generosity.

". . . My dad always told me, I made this money. I'm not going to save it for you, I'm going to give it to people that need it. If you want to make your own money, just go work for it. He always told me. I'm going to give you food, I'm going to feed you well, I'm going to get you clothes, I'm going to take you to school. But don't ever think that you're going to get my money one day.

". . . Then he took that money and gave it to the poor. Bought them food, clothes, took their kids and got them school stuff. And I learned from that. Why could I not be like him one day? Make my own money, helping poor people and people that need it. I think he's a role model and he taught me how important school is. . . . You need to be smart to be successful in this life."

Does Dieng have your attention yet? He certainly had the attention of national reporters in Phoenix last week for the West Regional. It was so different amessage from those you usually hear at tournament time that Dieng stood outeven more than usual, which is quite a bit for a player so tall with a story so different.

And NBA scouts are starting to notice too. After his performance in the NCAA Tournament, he's expected to climb up the mock draft boards for the 2013 Draft, though it seems unlikely Dieng would leave for the NBA without a degree.

Because he was always taller than kids his age, Dieng said he usually hung out with older people. Even today, Dieng seems beyond his years.

Like most in his country, his favorite sport was soccer. He grew up playing on a field right across from his house, a midfielder, and would shout to his mother to watch before making big plays against his brother.

But there's little call for soccer players of his height. His neighborhood got its first basketball goal when he was 5, and by age 13 he began playing seriously, transferring to the only school where he could play and study.

He drew the attention of talent scouts at a Without Borders tournament, andwound up in, of all places, Huntington, W. Va. Rob Fulford, basketball coach at Huntington (W.Va.) Prep, remembers the day he sat his new basketball player in a chair in his office and tried to talk to him.

"I started trying to have a conversation with him, and he just broke down in tears," Fulford said. "It was culture shock. He was away from home and it just hit him that his parents weren't going to be around. He didn't speak any of the language. He was obviously uncomfortable and probably scared."

That was four years ago. But those who know him now can't be surprised at the progress he's made. He learned English quickly.

"It was very hard for me," Dieng said of his arrival. "The first week I stayed in my room. I couldn't speak to anybody. I couldn't do anything. I couldn't speak English. If you said hi to me I wouldn't say anything, because I didn't know. My dad told me, you need to communicate with people so you can pick up the language pretty quick. You can't just stay in your corner. You need to socialize more with people."

These days, it's not unusual to see Dieng stopped on campus, talking to just about anybody.

U of L coach Rick Pitino said he's impressed with Dieng's dedication -- and his potential. Pitino told Dieng when that he was going to drive him like he'd never been driven. Dieng asked him what "drive" meant.

"I love Gorgui so much," Pitino said. "We're not a humble society, athletes today. The African athletes are so humble and hungry. It's just so much fun coaching him because he's a throwback."

For example, Dieng throws out statements like, "I don't play this game to make enemies, only friends," and refuses to talk trash to opponents because, "Why would I want to make another player feel bad? It could be me."

And then there's the NBA. Dieng wants to go to the NBA as much as any player in the Final Four. But for different reasons.

"If I made it to the NBA one day, that would be 70 percent of my goals," he said. "And I'm going to change people's lives where I'm from. They're going to look at me and realize how important school and education are. They're going to understand I get where I am through school.Because some kids where I'm from quit school just to play sport. If I have both, get my degree, make it to the league, they will see."

So if the NBA is 30 percent of Dieng's goals, what are the other 30 percent?

"To be a role model," he said. " I want to go back home and give back to people who helped me. I want to go back one day and do the same thing for the kids. I don't want to be selfish. People who helped me to get where I am, I want to go back and do the same thing for them."

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